The letter to the Hebrews speaks in a beautiful way of Jesus as a man like us, one who must learn, grow, and mature. Today, we hear of one such example in the second reading for Mass (Heb 2,9-11). It says that Jesus reached perfection through suffering.

It can be difficult to understand how or why Jesus must become perfect. To say that he must reach perfection means that he is really one of us – a man like us. As Hebrews says in another place: “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears . . . . Although he was Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Heb 5,7-8).

What a help it is to know that Jesus has experienced our human life. When it is difficult for us, we can look to him with confidence. He understands. He shows us the way he has gone. We must only follow him.